Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-09-08
TO BIZ CONTINUED.
How Protection Affects the Farmers

How Protection Affects the Farmers.
Communicated by ]. S. Moore to the Million.
Nothing is more plausible for the
ignorant or the willy protection advo-
Gates than the stereotyped legend, "Tax
luxuries high and put a moderate tax
on common necessaries." Some time
ago showed in the deadly parallel
column that in the American tariff sys-
tenn it is just the reverse. For instance,
a rich man who can afford so drink a
bottle of dear still wine'costing So or S4
will only. pay tax -ofat most Is per
cent, and on champagne the average
duty in 1886 was So per cent. But the
tax on castor oil was in 1886 no less than
1928 per cent. Perhaps I am wrong
after all. There may be greater luxu-
ry in castor oil than in a bottle of
champagne or Chateau Yquen. The
latter may bring pain. The former in
general relieves it. am therefore puz-
zled how to class luxury or a necessi-
| ty. -. E
Our friend the farmer who builds
new house (Which protectionists may,
first of all, consider luxury may be
desirous to put down some floor oil
cloth, q drugget carpet, and even tap
estry carpet Should the American
farmer entertain such luxurious am
bition as using oil cloth, he should GER
tainly be made aware that this free,
rich and great country imposes severe
tax on such extravaganza, because there
is heavy interest on the national debt
| to pay, or indeed is the tax wanted at
all, as the country is actually cursed
with surplus of $4,000, 900 annually,
but simply for the best of all reasons,
that there were in 1880 the following
hands employed in the floor oil-cloth
business, namely, 1880 men, women,
and 40 children, and these received a
total of $733, ,225 wages, which would
give an average of about $S.25 week
to the men. Hence the duty on floor
oil cloth Is 40 per cent. In 1880 the
value of floor cloth produced at home
was $4, ,721 ,066. dare say it is now at
least $6,0OO,000. The, enhanced tax
paid on this homemade product is at
least 81 100000, and we collected in 1885
a duty of $ll0,347, and the amount
stands thus:
Paid in 1886 to floor cloth tax 81, 800
Paid to the Treasury duty on floor cloth. 11O,347
Total. ....$I, ,61O,sl7
With these little statistics before us
beg to call the farmers attention who
has built new house that if he
wants to buy $50 worth of oil cloth the
tax thereon is about $l4; or in other
words, he has to raise 1924 bushels of
| wheat at so cents a bushel to pay an
"extra taxi on $50 worth of oil cloth.
The value of yard of floor oil cloth
abroad in 1886 was SO cents.
The next great luxury that the farm
er's wife may desire for her rooms is
common drugget. Well, this luxurious
article cost abroad 369 cents a square
yard, and the duty thereon is Is cents
per square yard and in addition
thereto 80 per cent. ad valorem, or say
altogether II 40 per cent. Should Mrs.
Hodge indulge In this great luxury and
need, say, 100 yards only, she will have
to pay an extra tax, as near as possible,
of $26. And her worthy husband will
have to raise 251 bushels of wheat at
80 cents per bushel, not to pay for any
extra value in the carpet, but simply
for the "tax." There is at least one
room left which will be furnished with
| LLl6tU Dl1OWy 1ltCly lOOhIUk CdIpGt,
known as tapestry Brussels. The duty
on this goods was, in 1886, 1926 per
cent. This carpet costs 68 cents a
square yard abroad. Should the farm
house parlor need 40 square yards of
carpet, the farmer will pay an extra tax
of $l6.34 and raise 20 bushels of wheat
to pay the extra tax. Thus, then, furn-
ishing his house with the cheapest
kind of floor cloth and carpeting, it
costs him:
On floor cloth tax ...sl4 90 ln tapestry. IS 81
Total ] 80 1855 81
This may in some measure look small.
But suppose there are of the 5000, 900
separate farms now in the country only
2 per cent, newly bailt and rebuilt, that
would be 100000 houses. If each
should pay this outrageous swindling
tax it would aggregate over $500, 900.
That is, this good, solid money is taken
4 from the farmers without the least COM
pensation to uphold that so much lauded
American home system. How, / wish
my much-swindled and oppressed tax
! paying friends fully to understand that
If had 1t in my sole power to take off
the whole tax or duty on oil floor cloth,
druggets, or carpets and make them
free Of duty / would certainly not do it
i all at once. do not believe In O policy
that goes from one extreme to the other,
\ but with free carpet wool, free jute, and
free oil there is no necessity off greater
duty than 20 per cent. on the above
/ articles, which would certainly not de-
/ stroy the home industry, but would
| rather give our manufacturers q change
to export carpets and floor cloth,
and would relieve the consum-
ers of8these products of more than
half tile tax. But there lei earssa cro :